Blown Away
by justanoutlaw
Summary: Emma is the one to help David find his father's killer and it makes all the difference.
1. Chapter 1

This was a prompt submitted to me by an anonymous user on Tumblr from a sentence starter meme I reblogged:

"Don't do this."

Set in a canon divergence of 6x12, where Emma was the one to help David find out who killed his dad.

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 _"Shatter every window till it's all blown away,_  
 _Every brick, every board, every slamming door blown away_  
 _Till there's nothing left standing,_  
 _Nothing left of yesterday_  
 _Every tear-soaked whiskey memory blown away."-Carrie Underwood_

Emma hung back as she watched August and her father discuss Pleasure Island. She had wanted to help him as much as she could, though she was definitely hesitant. Her mother had told her about him discovering that Robert's death had been a result of murder rather than his alcoholism. However, Snow had also added that David had agreed to let it go. She couldn't help but agree with it. Things in Storybrooke were crazy enough without her dad risking his life to try to get revenge. When he came to her, asking for her help since she had potions and such, she almost said no. Then she found out from Killian that he had passed out in front of her house and realized just how much of a walking zombie he looked like. She was starting to figure out he wasn't going to tag out and wake up her mom until he got to the bottom of this. David had promised to finally get some sleep once it was all sorted and Emma truly believed him.

"This is definitely the coin," August confirmed as he looked it over. "And it was the last I saw of him, he left with the boy. Honestly, I never put you with him, David."

"He went after James," David breathed, a mixture of shock and confusion on his face. Emma stepped closer, putting her hand on top of his and he squeezed it in return. "I thought he was just a drunk who fell prey to his temptations." A smile slowly spread across his face as he came to the realization. Decades of resenting his father, thinking he cared more about the alcohol than his family…it wasn't true. "He was trying to fix our family."

"He was stone cold sober," August confirmed with a smile.

David reached down and took the coin into his hand. It felt different now and it wasn't just the remnants of the potion. Suddenly, he realized just who had killed his father. It all made sense now. He was nearly surprised that he hadn't thought of it before. Emma could see the gears in her father's head working and she suddenly got a little worried. She knew that look, heck, she had inherited it from him-as had Henry.

Emma wasn't paying much attention to August continuing to discuss Robert, talking about the pages from the book he had removed all those years ago. She only snapped out of it when she heard her father say his goodbyes and head for the door. Emma quickly turned to her friend and gave him a quick smile.

"Thanks," she said before following her dad out the door.

When she caught up with David, he was pacing a little bit, though he stopped when he saw his daughter.

"I know who killed him," he told her. "He's still alive and I know where he is."

Emma sighed. "Dad…"

David studied her face. That hadn't been the reaction he was expecting. "You don't want me to go after him." It wasn't a question, more of a statement.

"No, I don't think it's a good idea."

"Seriously?"

"Dad, you promised Mom that you weren't going to look for him. I understood this little mission, but you know now. Isn't that enough?"

"No! My father was a good man, he was just trying to get our family together! George needs to pay!"

Emma bit her lip. Out of all the people, it had to be him. George and her father already had a complicated history. The former tyrant had not only destroyed James and turned him into the monster he became, he had also been terrible to David and Snow. Ruth had to die just so Emma and her brother could even exist. George was already paying for his crimes, he was locked up in the asylum and forever would be.

"He already is," Emma said, trying to calm him down. "He's locked up, he's never getting out. Killing him won't bring your father back. You need to just find a way to move on. Don't you remember what you told me when we thought Killian was gone for good? People are meant to grieve."

"You didn't listen to that advice," David pointed out.

"No, but I should have," she replied, sounding just as stubborn as he. "If I had just grieved properly, not gone to the Underworld, I would've saved everyone so much pain. My lack of coping skills ended up two lives being taken and only one was able to come back. I regret my choices." She let out a sigh. "I don't want you doing something you're going to regret."

David looked down into Emma's eyes, letting her words wash over him. He bit down on his lip and ran his fingers through his hair.

"Could you go pick up Neal from the daycare?" He asked. "I think I need some sleep."

Emma smiled a little and nodded, standing on her tiptoes to kiss his cheek.

"I'll see you tomorrow, okay?"

Emma grabbed Neal from the daycare just a block away, thanking Ashley for all the babysitting she had been doing lately. She headed back to the loft, expecting to see her mother awake. Instead, she found her still sleeping peacefully in bed. Emma felt a sinking feeling fill her stomach as she walked over to the nightstand and found her father's handwriting on the pad her parents used to write notes back and forth.

 _Emma,_

 _I'm sorry, but I can't go to sleep. Not yet. George has caused our family so much pain over the years, I can't let him get away with it anymore. I love you, I'll see you soon.-Dad_

She let out a frustrated grunt and dug through her pocket, pulling out her cellphone. "Henry, what are you up to, kid?...Alright, great. I'm going to drop your uncle off, alright? My mom's still asleep and I have to help Dad with something else."

Luckily for Emma, it had taken David some time to get to the asylum. She used her old bail bondsperson skills to stealthily walk behind him through the halls to where George was. She watched as her father threw open the door to the cell. George sat on his bed, that smirk returning to his face.

"A visitor," he snarked. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"

David stormed into the cell and grabbed him by the shirt, dragging him out and doing all but throw him against the wall. "You killed my father!"

George chuckled and Emma was so tempted to just snap his neck herself. "Well technically, I ordered him killed. I wondered if you'd work it out."

Emma had never seen the look that was in her father's eyes. It was a mixture of disgust, hatred and hurt. "You evil bastard. He didn't deserve that," he snarled.

"That's true," George taunted. "He was a good man. I offered him temptation and he withstood it. I'll bet he was imagining your little face when he opened the front door and he was standing there, sober, victorious with your brother in his arms." He let out an evil laugh. "Instead you got news he died a drunken failure."

"Stop!" David's voice was breaking. He grabbed a knife from his pocket and slid it across the floor to George before grabbing another and holding it out. "Now fight for your life, if you think it's worth it."

The words took Emma off guard. This was a side of him she hadn't seen before. Her father was a hero, one of the good guys. To her, that's what he'd always be. She wasn't blind to the bad things he had done in the past, but knew he had regrets over them. Here, she knew that he didn't really want George to die. He just wanted the pain to stop. She knew the feeling all too well. Not too long ago, she had stood over Lily holding a gun. She had thought if she killed her, all the hurt from her parents' lies, the expectations that were put upon both of them, the pain that Lily had inflicted on her would just go away. Luckily, Regina had been there to talk her down. She was lucky.

She wouldn't allow her father to succumb to darkness, not again.

"Don't do this!" Emma yelled out.

David turned to Emma, his eyes wide. He had been really stupid to expect that she wouldn't follow him. Before he could react much further, Emma grabbed George by his arm and shoved him back into his cell, slamming the door shut. She used her magic to lock the door again.

"What the hell?!" David exploded. "He admitted he killed my father!"

"Yes," Emma replied, calmly, stepping closer to her father. "He killed him. He also told you about the type of man that he was. Your father could've killed George right then and there, but he didn't. He was a good man, noble."

"But it didn't work! He still died!" David felt tears gather in his eyes. "I thought he didn't fight for us, but he did! He fought with everything that he had! He did the right thing and it wasn't enough!"

Emma bit her lip, watching as he clearly became more emotional. She stepped closer to him, feeling her heart break. Her father and her were alike in many ways. From their hair to the similar smile, to the ability to bottle things up inside until they completely exploded.

"What if we can't break this curse and I never get to see your mother again? What if…what if Gideon comes back and he…" David trailed off, not wanting to voice his most recent fear out loud. Emma ducked her head, she didn't want to add to her father's worry. At the same time, she knew there wasn't much she could do there. If Henry was going through the same thing, she wouldn't be able to help but be scared. "What if being Prince Charming isn't enough and I keep losing and it keeps going and I lose everything that matters to me?!"

Tears prickled Emma's eyes herself. She hated seeing her dad in such a way, so vulnerable and scared. She was the savior, it was her job to keep everyone's safe. She felt as though she had failed him in some way, for not preventing the Evil Queen's curse upon their hearts. She didn't care if she had to die to keep her family safe, but between this breakdown and Henry's while they were searching for Aladdin, she was starting to realize just what a tole it was taking on everyone. At the same time, she knew it was more than that.

She and her father had grown up the same way in certain senses. Yes, he had a loving mother, but not a father. He assumed his dad hadn't cared, that he had put something above him. Emma had spent every day for 28 years assuming that her own father had given her up, didn't care about her. She assumed there had been something greater that came before her. Then she broke the curse and found out that he nearly died trying to keep her safe. It was overwhelming and the emotions were a lot for anyone to handle. She had pushed her parents away when she was going through them, but she wasn't going to abandon her dad when he needed her the most.

"I understand," she said, softly. "I do. You don't have to be anything more than what you are. You are an amazing man, one that your father would be so proud of. You're a great husband, a phenomenal father to Neal…and me." She bridged the final gap between them. "You don't have to be a prince, you don't have to be a hero. You don't have to save everyone. It's going to be okay."

David looked down into his daughter's eyes, they were both crying by that point. He let out a shaky breath and dropped the knife, falling to his knees as he sobbed. Emma knelt in front of him, wrapping her arms tightly around him. He returned the hug, still managing to cradle the back of her head. It was going to take more than this for him to move on from it, sessions with Archie were probably much needed. But in that moment, the two just sat there, hugging each other tightly. Not heroes, royalty or saviors. Just a father and daughter, using love to start the healing process.

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As always, prompts are accepted on my Tumblr accounts: just-an-outlaw and justanoutlawfanfiction!


	2. Chapter 2

Alright, so I have a few prompts I should be working on, but ever since I wrote the first part to this, I got this idea and it won't leave my head. It's a twist on what happened in 6x14. For the sake of this, pretend that Regina and EQ making peace happened before Emma found Killian. Anyway, this is anti-Hook and anti-Captain Swan, so if you're a fan, I wouldn't read it…

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" _Dead men tell no tales."_

On the glowing dreamcatcher, Killian stuck the sword through Robert's stomach. The pirate watched it, with zero emotion on his face. Before him was a lit fireplace, something he had thought silly considering the house had heat but now he was very grateful. What he didn't know, was that his new fiancé was watching the entire thing.

"That's my dad's father."

Killian nearly jumped up in surprise. He saw the look on her face, a mixture of hurt and confusion.

"It was you," she breathed.

George hadn't been the one to kill her grandfather, it was Killian. The man not 24 hours prior that she had agreed to marry. She was so caught off guard by this information, but then she wondered why she was. She knew what she was getting into. The rings on his fingers, they once belonged to men that he had killed. She had somehow always blocked that out, it hadn't mattered.

But now they weren't just a faceless name. This was someone that was a part of her, a member of her family. One she never got to meet…because of the man standing before her.

It was like a switch flicking on. This wasn't the first time he had tried to hurt a member of her family. He had once left her and her mother to die, back in the Enchanted Forest. Just weeks prior he had tried to kill them all. Yes, he had darkness, which she had implanted in him, but that was no excuse. If there was anything she learned during that time, it was that darkness could be controlled.

What made it even worse was it was clear Killian didn't plan on telling her, or anyone for that matter. He was going to burn the memories and go on like it never happened. Like he hadn't destroyed her father's family, _her_ family. She had seen her father break down upon finding out just how he died (or how he thought he did anyway). She had been the one to hold him while he cried. She had told Killian about all of it, she trusted him.

Yet, he was still lying to her.

"Emma, let me explain," Killian's words interrupted her thoughts.

Emma stepped away from him, holding up her hands. "No, it's very clear to me."

"I swear to you, I wanted to tell you. I tried. But then you found that ring and I just…I couldn't bear to ruin that happiness."

Emma couldn't even meet his eye. He was blaming her for all of this? As if it was her fault that he had some secret? This didn't seem to be anything new. It was always her fault. He did something wrong, she was responsible. Whether it was her having the gall to expect her lover to not be a murderer or because she had inserted the darkness in him. The latter of which she knew was wrong, but she also knew it wasn't her fault that he had attempted to kill all of them. He could've left Neal an orphan…just as she had been.

He had almost killed Henry.

He _had_ killed her grandfather.

The man in front of her wasn't her true love, no. He was a monster.

"Please just hear me out," he continued to ramble. "All I can say is that I was a broken man for a very long time and I did horrendous things."

Emma finally looked up at him. "And you were just going to burn this?" She waved the dreamcatcher around. "Act like it never happened?"

"I was ashamed and scared, scared that you wouldn't want to be with me anymore. I was afraid…afraid that your parents wouldn't want me around. I couldn't lose you. I couldn't live with the guilt that I destroyed your father's family."

He had killed an innocent man (actually, several innocent men, he had made that quite clear) and all he cared about was losing her? About how her parents would feel about him? No remorse for what he had done? There wasn't even any apologies escaping his lips. He cared about living with the guilt.

What about the pain that her father lived with? The impact that Robert's death had on him every day? The suffering that made him insecure about his own abilities to parent? Pain he carried around, day in and day out. Pain that almost made him turn his entire heart dark because he just wanted all of it to go away.

Emma didn't realize what was happening until Killian was flat out on the ground, holding his face in pain. Her own hand was throbbing. She shook it out, causing the engagement ring to fall to the ground as she did. She didn't have anything left to say and she knew if she stuck around, she would beat him to a pulp, so she turned on her heel and stormed out the door.

She drove around in her bug, not really sure where to go. Finally, she took out her phone and managed to call Regina, filling her in on the situation. It was her mother's turn to be awake, so her father couldn't arrest him (and even if he could-she wasn't sure if that'd be exactly ethical) and she had just knocked him out, so she knew she couldn't. Regina promised she would take care of it.

Next, she went to the loft. Snow had just settled Neal down for a nap and was going to grade some papers when she heard the knock on the door. The minute Emma saw her mother, she broke down into tears. Snow wrapped her into a big hug. She didn't know what was going on, but she wanted to comfort her in some way. She gently lead her inside and together, they sat on the couch, Emma sobbing into her shoulder. Snow rubbed her back, knowing it'd be pointless to try to get any information out of her to start with.

Emma wasn't even crying over Killian. She was crying that she had fallen for him and allowed herself to overlook all the signs. She had no way of knowing what he had done to her grandfather, but it wasn't as if he had been a saint before then. She had witnessed some of his horrible acts. She felt such guilt for ever bringing him into her family. She wished she could turn back time to when they got back from the past. She should've found the Jolly Roger for him and sent him on his way, but she hadn't.

But she also knew she couldn't be like Killian, she couldn't be selfish. This wasn't about her, not completely anyway. She pulled away from her mother and Snow wiped her tears.

"What happened, what's going on?"

"It wasn't George," Emma whispered.

Snow raised an eyebrow. "What wasn't George?"

"Robert's death," she bit down on her lip. "He ordered for him to be killed, but then Killian showed up, he killed the guards."

"That's a good thing, isn't it?"

"It would be, if he hadn't killed Robert directly after to keep him from telling anybody."

Snow's eyes flew open wide and that's when she noticed the bruises growing on Emma's left hand. She instantly got up and went to the freezer, returning with a bag of peas a moment later. She gently placed them down onto Emma's knuckles, frowning sympathetically when her daughter let out a hiss of pain.

"We'll switch to heat in a few minutes." Snow lowered herself back down on the couch. "Are you sure this is what happened?"

"I caught him trying to burn his memories," Emma replied.

Snow pursed her lips together. She wished she could say she was surprised. When she read David's letter, apologizing for lying about not stopping the search, she had thought something was off. George made sense, especially after she saw the pages that August had given to Killian, but it just seemed too easy. She had learned by then that things were never that simple.

Maybe it was hypocritical that she was so angry with Killian for killing her father-in-law, when she had forgiven Regina for doing the same to her own dad. The situations weren't comparable in her mind. King Leopold hadn't been a good man, Snow knew this now. He had treated Regina terribly and forced her into a marriage that she didn't want. He had also threatened to have her locked up for trying to leave him. No, killing was never the answer, but that wasn't the same as taking the life of an innocent.

Regina also owned up to her crimes. She had worked so hard to make up for what she had done. What had Killian done? Attempted to burn any trace that had it happened. He was going to marry her daughter, pretending he hadn't completely destroyed David's life.

Snow wanted to go punch him herself, but she wasn't about to leave Emma to do it.

"How do you feel?" Snow asked.

Emma sniffled. "Like an idiot. I never should've let him around this family, Mom."

"The murder had already happened, there's nothing you could do."

"Even so. If I had just sent him away, maybe…I don't know. Things would just be a lot different."

"We'll get through this," Snow assured her, squeezing her good hand. "We always do."

Emma looked behind her to the bed by the window. Her father laid there, sleeping peacefully. Killian had become a friend to him. How was she supposed to tell him about all of this?

"You won't have to do that," her mother interrupted her thoughts, clearly being able to tell what they were. "Hook doesn't get to play coward anymore. He'll be the one to tell your father, if we can find him."

"That shouldn't be a problem. I called Regina, I'm pretty sure she's going to lock him up."

"Once we get everything settled and I know you're okay, I'll wake him up. He deserves to know."

Snow knew this was going to hurt her husband, but she also knew there couldn't be any secrets. Their family had enough of those over the past year. She also knew it could wait, however. Her daughter needed her in that moment and she would tend to her as long as she needed.

After Emma had heated her hand and had a cup of cocoa, Snow reluctantly went back to the bed. How she wished the three of them could face this as a family. Now that the Evil Queen was gone (and also no longer quite so evil), she hoped Regina could find a way to break the curse once and for all.

"I'm so sorry you have to go through all this, my darling," Snow whispered before her lips collided with his own. A little rainbow rift overcame them and she fell back onto the pillow. Her eyes closed just as his opened.

David sat up in bed, looking around. He knew that their awake periods had been thrown off with him insisting on staying up while Emma was stuck in the Wish World and to find who killed his father, but something seemed off. He was always surprisingly well rested after waking up each time, so it wasn't even that, he could just tell something was wrong.

He got up and found Neal snoozing in his crib. Not too far away, Emma was sitting on the couch, looking as though she had been crying.

"Emma, what's wrong?" He asked, walking closer to her.

Before she could answer, the door opened and Henry walked inside, his backpack slung over his shoulder.

"I'm here for babysitting duty."

"Thanks, kid," Emma said, standing up and kissing his head. "He's napping, but has been down for awhile. Just read to him or watch some T.V when he wakes up?"

"We'll be fine," Henry promised.

"Wait, why is Henry watching Neal? What is going on?"

"Just…come with me, it'll be easier to explain when we get there," Emma replied. She had left her house in such a hurry that she had forgotten her coat, so she borrowed her mother's instead. She threw her father's at him. David was still confused, but by then had learned sometimes it was just best to do what the women in his life asked him to do.

The drive to the station was a quiet one. David didn't bother to ask what was going on again. When they got there, he was even more confused to find who he thought to be his future son-in-law behind bars with Regina sitting at a desk, filing her nails. She looked up at them, setting it down.

"About time you showed up."

"Sorry," Emma replied, not really knowing what else to say.

David looked from the two of them to Killian, who had a giant black and blue forming on his face. "What is going on here? Why is he in jail? What happened to his face?"

"Your daughter inherited your left hook," Killian mumbled under his breath.

"You think now is the time for jokes?" Regina snapped at him. "Frankly, you're lucky to be alive at this point. That's a personal favor for Snow and Emma."

David noticed for the first time that Emma had bruises on her hand. It was all clicking and suddenly, he felt like he had transported back to a couple of years ago.

"Wait, you punched him?" Emma nodded to confirm. "Why?"

She simply turned to the cell. "You tell him."

"Emma…" Killian started to say.

"You have two choices," she swiftly interrupted. "Either you tell him or I can do it, but I let you out first and whatever happens, happens."

He drew a deep breath, letting it out through his nostrils. "Dave…what you think happened to your father, it didn't really happen."

David's brows furrowed in confusion. "What are you talking about?"

"The king did order to have him killed, but I ended up murdering the guards that were meant to do it, so I could steal their gold."

He wanted to be relieved, but with the state of Hook's face, David knew there had to be more. "But?"

"I was worried that your father would rat me out to the king…I didn't know he was your father until recently…"

"That doesn't matter," Emma interrupted.

Killian shut his eyes in frustration, as if he had any right to be in such a situation. When they flickered open, they met David's. "I killed him."

David stared at him for a minute, reflecting on their journey. He had hated Killian from the moment he met him. He had given him a chance because he had helped him in Neverland and then a few times with Emma. His daughter seemed to like him, so he tried. He wasn't too sure about them getting married, but Emma was a grown woman and could make her own choices.

In that moment, he regretted not killing him when he had a chance.

He looked back to Emma, feeling something in him. It was the reason he hadn't killed the mermaid on the ship that night. The same reason he wouldn't have really murdered George in front of her when she followed him to the asylum. He knew that Emma was aware that his heart wasn't entirely pure (or at least, that it hadn't been before Snow crushed it to enact the curse). Even so, he could never hurt someone in front of her.

Instead of flipping out on Killian, he turned around and stormed right out of the station. He started to kick the building, but that only brought pain to his foot. He punched the side of his truck, shaking out his fist after he had. A moment later, he felt a hand go on his back. Turning around, he found himself face to face with Emma.

"I'm so sorry, Dad," she whispered.

He looked down at her hands and realized that she wasn't wearing an engagement ring. Before he had gone back to sleep, Emma had confided in him that she had found one in the bottom of his chest. She said that she was going to accept the proposal. He knew that she had put him in prison, but a part of him wondered if she would really call off the wedding.

But of course she had. This was his daughter, his Emma. Family came first, always.

"Regina is going to find a way to get rid of him, you won't have to see him around anywhere," she rambled. "I won't let him hurt anyone else ever again."

David pulled Emma into his grasp, cradling the back of her head, resting her chin upon it. He knew no one would blame him for ripping out the damn pirate's throat, but Emma's words from his breakdown at the asylum rung through his mind.

His father could've killed George and he hadn't. He stayed true to who he was, he was a good man.

For the first time in decades, David wanted to be like his father more than anything in the world. Starting with putting his family first.

Being a good husband, an amazing father, that was the best revenge he could possibly ever get on Killian. His happy beginning was just starting, the past be damned.

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I hope you all enjoyed this little ficlet. I got asked a lot if I would do any fix-its of season 6 and that's what this turned into.


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